Late Night Talks
by SeventhWheel
Summary: Leo and Piper can't sleep. So they talk. Leo/Piper friendship.


**Okay first fanfic and all, so let me know what you think. This is just a little Leo/Piper friendship.**

Piper sat up, gasping for air. It seemed like every time she closed her eyes, she heard Gaea's voice, mocking her. She saw the faces of all her friends. "Why didn't you save us?" They screamed at her. "Why, Piper, why? What did we do to deserve this?"

Deciding she wasn't getting back to sleep anytime soon, she got dressed and headed out to clear her head. Before she got too far she saw a slumped figure already at the edge of the Argo 11. As Piper got closer she recognized the scrawny, elf-like boy that was always full of energy like he had drank a dozen cups of caffeine.

But not tonight. Tonight something was different. Leo's fingers were still. He didn't move an inch. That alone told Piper something was wrong.

"Leo?" Piper laid a hand on his shoulder.

Leo nearly jumped off overboard. "Pipes," He let out a breathy laugh. "You scared me. What are you doing out here?"

Piper sat down next to him with her knees pulled up to her chest. "I could ask you the same thing."

"Couldn't sleep," Leo replied simply. "What's your excuse?"

"I just needed some fresh air."

Leo gave her an understanding look. "Nightmares?"

Piper nodded.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." Piper shivered and wrapped her arms around her knees. After a moment she continued. "Just the usual. Gaea, all my friends dying."

"Well, if it helps any, I'm not dead." Leo gave her a crooked grin. "I'm right here, and I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon."

"Thanks Leo." Piper smiled back.

"That's what I'm here for. Repair boy, at your service." He said lightly.

But she saw something in her friend's eyes that was off. His smile seemed too rehearsed, too fake. It didn't quite reach his eyes.

"So, what are your nightmares about?"

Leo stiffened. "Who said anything about me having nightmares?"

Piper gave him a look. One that said, Cut the crap. I can see right through you.

Leo traced a pattern on the floor. All the fight seemed to have gone out of him.

"Just the usual." He repeated her previous words.

"Want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?" Leo said almost bitterly.

"If it keeps you from sleeping, there must be something you need to talk about."

Leo copied her position with his knees drawn up to his chest and rested his head on his knees. This made him look even smaller than he already was.

Piper didn't know how to deal with this Leo. A hyper, mischievous Leo, she could take care of. But this sad, defeated person sitting next to her? She had no clue.

"Gaea likes to bring up the past... And the past isn't all sunshine and rainbows."

Piper waited patiently.

"My mom." Leo's voice cracked.

He cleared his throat and continued. "And she tells me things. Some things I know aren't true but I can't help believing them anyway." He paused. "Some things... I know are true."

"Like what?" Piper scoffed. "Because I can guarantee you, whatever Dirt Face is telling you, she's wrong."

"Not about this. This time, she's right."

"Leo what could Gaea, the evil Mother Nature who's trying to tear us down and turn us against each other, possibly be right about?"

"I couldn't save my mom," Leo whispered. "And I'm not going to be able to save any of you."  
"Who says we're going to need saving?"

Leo continued as if he hasn't heard her. "I'm too weak. I'm not strong enough."  
"You are strong, Leo," Piper said.

Leo shook his head and looked away.

"You are." Piper lifted his chin up and forced him to look her straight in the eye. "You might not realize it, but you are. All this crap you've been through, yet you still have that stupid grin on your face with all your stupid jokes. You keep on smiling, no matter what."

"Don't you get it, Beauty Queen?" Leo's voice was barely above a whisper. His eyes were brimming with unshed tears. "I have to keep on smiling because if I didn't, I would break down crying. Laughing's the only thing I can do these days. I can't let myself stop to think because I just turn into a mess."

"Oh, Leo," Piper wrapped an arm around him. "You can't keep all this stuff locked up inside you."

Leo scoffed but didn't pull away. "I've been doing it for 7 years. Why should it make any difference now?"

"You have to let it out eventually. You have to let yourself feel it. Pain is part of what makes us human."

"Maybe I'm more machine than human. Maybe I don't even want to be human."  
"You can't mean that."

"I do. Leo shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "I'm just tired. I'm tired of feeling like this. I'm tired of having to put on a smile every day."

He laughed suddenly. But it wasn't his normal laugh. This laugh was harsh and bitter. "Don't you see it, Beauty Queen? This is all a mask. I smile because I have to. People just look on the outside. They can't see the inside. They can't see when someone's hurting as long as they see a brave face." Leo smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was the smile of someone hanging on by a thread, a smile of someone about to break down. "So I put on a brave face. I smile, and I tell jokes, and I laugh because that's what people want to see."

"Leo..." It hurt Piper to see him like this, at his most vulnerable. "Every single person on this boat would give their lives for you."

Leo interrupted. "That's the point. They shouldn't have to!"

"When are you going to get it in your head that people care about you?"  
Leo started to turn away from her, but Piper wouldn't let him.

"I mean it! You're not just some orphan runaway anymore, Leo. So stop running. Stop hiding from all your problems. It just makes them worse when you finally have to face them."

Leo closed his eyes. Piper could almost see the internal battle going on inside him.

"You don't have to run anymore, Leo. You're not alone."

Finally, Leo nodded. He let out a sigh, and his whole body seemed to relax.

Piper put an arm around him, and Leo rested his head against her shoulder.

It wasn't much, but it was a start.


End file.
